Victorian teenager suffering rare brain cancer dealt another blow

A Victorian teenager battling a rare form of brain cancer has been given the devastating news that her tumour is now growing and becoming more aggressive.

It’s been 18 months since Ciara Nelson’s tumour was discovered, by accident, after she fell and hit her head while playing netball and her mother took her for a check-up.

Incredibly, despite the deadly mass in her brain, Ciara shows little outward signs of her tumour, and has even been able to continue working a casual job and become qualified as a fitness instructor.

“It’s really hard because if you didn’t know, if you didn’t see pictures of what is in her brain, you wouldn’t know that this kid is facing life and death. She is quite remarkable and it is very, very rare,” Ciara’s mother Colleen Nelson told Nine.com.au.

Doctors found Ciara Nelson's tumour after she had a fall during a netball match. ()

Ciara’s glioma is in the least accessible part of the brain, the stem, and doctors around the world initially told Ms Nelson, a single mother-of-three, that surgery to remove it was impossible.

Unwilling to take no for an answer, Ms Nelson beat down the path to renowned Sydney neurosurgeon Charlie Teo’s door, who has agreed to operate.

Ms Nelson said the latest scans of Ciara’s brain, which were taken in December and showed the tumour growing, had now forced the family’s hand.

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“We only have a two-month window to get Ciara operated on before the tumour grows more making the surgery even more risky than it already is,” she said.

“We thought we would have longer. We are shattered that it has come to this.”

“It’s actually really tough because we know the risks of the surgery are huge. But we know the risks of doing nothing are also huge. It’s basically a no-win situation and we have to pick one of them and hope for the best.”

Ciara with Sydney neurosurgeon Dr Charlie Teo. ()

All going to plan, Dr Teo will operate on Ciara’s tumour in late February, Ms Nelson said.

“It is going to happen. It was a tough road to get to this decision, especially for Ciara. How do you get an 18-year-old to process this?” Ms Nelson said.

“She is scared. But she is so brave, it’s ridiculous.”

Nine.com.au originally reported on Ciara’s battle in April, after the teenager’s tumour had been upgraded from a low-grade glioma to a high-grade malignant one.

Ciara, with her younger sister Rylee. ()

Ciara’s tumour is located near her optic nerve and doctors have said without surgery the growth with take her eyesight and ultimately her life.

The surgery is expected to cost as much as $130,000 and a fundraising page has so far raised $100,000 towards the costs.

Ms Nelson said she was grateful for all the support friends, family and even strangers had shown her daughter.

“We are very lucky in that we have the support network that we have, and I know a lot of people aren’t as fortunate as maybe we are in that way,” she said.